


The Battle of Bucky and Loki

by Lenni51074



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 11:32:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15509001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenni51074/pseuds/Lenni51074
Summary: Bucky and Loki are both in love with you, and try to outdo each other in an attempt to win your affections. Unfortunately, things don’t quite go to plan.





	The Battle of Bucky and Loki

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a writing prompt that I saw ages ago, imagining Bucky and Loki both being in love with you. Prompt is in bold.

“ **Dibs!** ” yelled Bucky.

“ **I saw her first!** ” Loki scowled at the former assassin.

“ **No, you didn’t!** ” Bucky glared at the god.

“ **Yes, I did!** ”

The two of them may have continued arguing all day if you had not entered the kitchen. “What’s all the yelling about?” You scowled at the two of them, hands on hips.

“Oh, hey Y/N,” said Bucky. “Just a minor disagreement with His Lordship here about what we should be having for dinner tonight.” The two of them gazed at you innocently.

You raised an eyebrow, clearly sceptical. “Right. Well, try to keep the volume to a minimum, please. Tony and Bruce are pretty close to a breakthrough with their new experiment, so I’d appreciate it if you respected that.”

You were Tony’s personal assistant, and had been adopted as an unofficial member of the team. You were fairly successful at curbing the majority of Tony’s more outrageous decisions, much to Pepper’s relief, and managed to keep things running smoothly in the Compound. You also kept the rest of the team in line (“Bossed them around within an inch of their lives,” according to Tony) and they all respected you and considered you a good friend.

A certain God of Mischief and a former HYDRA assassin, however, considered you as far more than a friend, and had recently discovered that they both wanted to win your heart. As a result, the two of them were engaged in a mini-war of sorts. If Bucky bought you a box of candy from the supermarket, Loki would teleport himself to Belgium in order to bring you a box of your favourite chocolates from a tiny shop in Brussels that didn’t deliver internationally. If Loki conjured up a rose for you one day, a week later Bucky would arrange a delivery of a thousand yellow daisies for you, causing Wanda’s allergies to go into overdrive and Pepper to go into hysterics about the amount of flower petals and pollen that were dropping on the floor all over the New Avengers Facility. When watching movies in the theatre room, you would often find yourself squeezed between the two, despite having previously agreed to sit with some of the others.

You seemed completely oblivious to the real reason for their attentions, though, much to the amusement of some of the others, in particular Natasha, Steve and Sam. You just assumed they were doing nice things for you simply because they wanted to, as many of the others often did.

You were an extremely affectionate and tactile person, and as such, you freely gave each member of the team cuddles and kisses whenever the mood struck you. Because of your loveable nature, you were a firm favourite with everyone. Even Bruce and Natasha, neither of whom were particularly demonstrative, seemed to enjoy your frequent displays of affection with good humour and a grudging acceptance.

Because of this, neither Bucky nor Loki could determine if anyone in particular was held in higher regard by you. You didn’t seem to favour anybody more than the others. All were treated equally as far as they could tell. In some respects, this was a good thing, because it meant that you didn’t play favourites. However, they both would have felt more comfortable knowing that you preferred one of them to the others. Whenever you threw your arms around somebody other than Loki or Bucky, or pressed a kiss to someone else’s cheek, the two of them glared at the recipient. This was particularly confronting for the newest member of the team, Peter Parker, who had only recently moved into the Compound, and had yet to grow comfortable enough around the older team members to stop stuttering or acting starstruck when he was near them. You thought he was adorable, and treated him like the little brother everybody else considered him to be.

After you’d left the kitchen, Loki turned to Bucky again. “Listen, mortal. Y/N is far too sophisticated for the likes of you. She deserves to be treated like a queen, and as I am a prince, I am obviously the person best suited to carry out that role. Besides, I’ve known her longer than you.” Loki had been enamoured of you from the moment he returned to Midgard in order to attempt to redeem himself for his role during the Chitauri attack, whilst he had been under the control of Thanos.

Bucky snorted. “Yeah, because clearly an egomaniac like you is better for her than a guy who’s actually dated dames from this world. She’s fun, which means that she deserves someone that can show her a good time. Clearly, that guy is me.”

The two of them stood glaring at each other, silently declaring war on each other, with you as the ultimate prize.

 

****** 

One morning, you had shuffled sleepily into the kitchen and as you sat down, Clint placed a steaming cup of coffee and a plate of waffles in front of you. You sighed with pleasure, and gave him an enthusiastic embrace. “Clint, you are an absolute angel. There’s a reason you are one of my favourite people.”

The archer laughed, knowing that you said that to everybody whenever they did something nice for you. “No problem, Y/N. You’re one of my favourites too.” Both Bucky and Loki had taken note of this, and were determined to get the first embrace of the day for themselves next time.

A few days later, you walked into the kitchen and stared in astonishment. The dining table held a staggering amount of pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast and fruit. There was juice, coffee and tea. A vase of fresh daisies had been placed in the centre of the table. Bucky came out bearing a huge platter of pastries, including your favourite cinnamon scrolls. “Good morning, doll.” 

“Morning, Bucky. What’s the occasion? Is the President joining the team for breakfast?” you joked, filling a travel mug with coffee.

“No, I just thought I’d treat you to a nice breakfast. As a thank you for all of the hard work you do for all of us.” He smiled at you expectantly.

“Well, this is very thoughtful, but I think you are overestimating my appetite just a bit. I know I eat more than most young women, but even I might struggle with this lot,” you laughed. “Besides, as much as I’d love to partake of this lavish spread, I have to eat and run. I’ve got a meeting with Pepper in the city, so I need to head off in a couple of minutes.” You grabbed a pancake from the enormous stack, failing to notice Bucky’s crestfallen expression. Loki, who had just entered the kitchen, heard your comment and gloated when he saw the assassin’s face.

“Hey! Look at all this food!” Pietro exclaimed. The speedster sat down and commenced piling his plate high with an assortment of delicacies.

“Good morning, Pietro. Bucky went a bit overboard with breakfast this morning, but I’m sure you and the others will appreciate his efforts.” You winked at the young man, trying hard not to laugh as he nodded with a mouth full of pancakes. His cheeks were so full he reminded you of a chipmunk.

The rest of the team came in shortly after, and attacked the breakfast with gusto. Peter, Thor and Steve in particular seemed to appreciate the enormous amount of food that greeted them.

Tony asked, “Why so much food this morning? Not that I’m complaining, but it’s usually every man for themselves at breakfast.”

You answered as you were grabbing your handbag. “Oh, Bucky decided to make a nice breakfast for me as a thank you for helping you guys. But unfortunately, I’m the only one that doesn’t have time to enjoy it, as I’ve got to head to the Tower to catch up with Pepper. So I’ve got to love you all and leave you. Later, guys!” You waved as you headed to the garage to borrow one of the Stark Industries vehicles.

Steve smirked at Bucky. “All of this was for Y/N, huh?”

“Shut up, punk. Just eat your breakfast and then clean up your mess, alright?”

Tony’s ears pricked up at this. “What’s all this? Does Frosty perhaps have feelings for my lovely assistant?”

“Quit it, Stark,” Bucky growled threateningly. “I’m heading to the training room. Do the dishes when you’ve finished. I’m not the maid.” He stalked off sulkily.

“It would be a shame to waste all of his efforts. I’m taking some of these pastries to my room for later,” laughed Sam. Scott and Pietro also loaded up plates for snacking later on. Wanda thoughtfully put aside a few pastries for you to enjoy once you returned to the Avengers Facility, before they all disappeared.

Natasha and Steve laughed as they cleared up the kitchen. “Why doesn’t Bucky just tell her how he feels?” asked Nat.

Steve shrugged. “I think he’s worried about making a fool of himself in case she doesn’t feel the same way. Plus, he’s competing with Loki, and who knows what will happen if she chooses him instead.”

“Do you think she’s actually interested in either of them?”

Steve pondered this. “I really don’t think she seems to have a particular interest in anybody in the team. I mean, I’ve never really noticed that she prefers one of us over anyone else. She seems to like all of us equally.”

“Hmmmm. There has to be some way of finding out.” Nat pursed her lips in consideration.

“Or we could just leave well enough alone. She’s a big girl, and I’m pretty sure she’s capable of sorting out her love life on her own.”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Natasha grinned. Steve just shook his head. He really did not want to get caught in the middle of any sort of conflict between Bucky and Loki. That could only end in disaster.

 

******

 

“Hi, Miss Y/L/N!” You looked up from your book to see young Peter approaching you, hands behind his back. 

“Hello, Peter. How many times do I need to ask you to call me Y/N?” you scolded him. Being called Miss Y/L/N made you feel old, and given that you were only a few years older than Peter, this was completely unacceptable.

“At least once more, Miss Y/L/N,” he said, cheeks pink with embarrassment. He was so cute. You really wished he would stop being so shy around everyone, but as the baby of the team it was only to be expected.

“Well, what can I do for you Peter?” You smiled at the young man, hoping to make him feel more at ease.

“Oh! I just wanted to thank you for helping me with my history homework. All of that stuff you lent me really helped.” For all of his intelligence, history was not Peter’s strong point. He just couldn’t seem to keep his dates straight, so he’d enlisted your help with his most recent assignment.

“You are more than welcome. I’m glad I could be of assistance.”

“Yeah, I got an A- for it! That’s the best mark I’ve had in ages for history. So, I just wanted to thank you, and I got you something to show how much I appreciated your help.” He turned bright red, and thrust a small bouquet of purple irises in your direction. You didn’t often receive flowers, so these were a wonderful surprise. The last time you’d been given flowers, it had taken nearly two weeks to clean up all of the pollen and fallen petals from the ridiculous number of daisies that Bucky had ordered for you.

“Peter! How did you know irises are my favourite?” You accepted the flowers with delight.

“I remember you told Mr Stark once that Van Gogh’s painting of Irises was your favourite, and that it was because they were your favourite flower, and that’s why you have a copy of it in your office. So I thought it would be nice to get some for you, as a thank you.” _Jeez, Peter, how many times do you have to say ‘thank you’? Good going, dork_ , he thought to himself. No wonder everybody thought he was just a dumb kid.

“Peter Parker, you are an absolute sweetheart. I love them. Thank you so much.” You stood up and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. You didn’t think it would be possible for him to turn any redder, and yet somehow he managed to do so. “You are excellent boyfriend material, and one day you are going to make some lucky young lady extremely happy.” Giving him another quick kiss, you went in search of a vase to display your bouquet, smiling happily as you admired the beautiful purple blooms.

Peter stood in the middle of the lounge room, hand pressed to his cheek, staring after you in wide eyed astonishment. This expression quickly disappeared when he noticed that both Loki and Bucky had witnessed the entire exchange and were now glaring at him. If looks could kill, he would have been so dead that they would need to bury him twice.

“Um, I think I still have some homework to do.” He scurried off to his room in an attempt to survive for a little while longer.

The trickster and the super-soldier filed away the knowledge of your favourite flower for future reference. The next time somebody gave you flowers, you were going to receive a truckload of them.

 

******

 

Loki found you in your office, furiously typing an email to Pepper. “Sweetling, I’ve brought you a cup of tea. I thought you might like a break.”

You gratefully accepted the steaming mug from the trickster. “Thank you, Loki. That was very thoughtful. I haven’t had a chance to step away from my desk today. Every time I finish one task, five more pop up that require my urgent attention.” You took a sip and sighed with pleasure, enjoying the slight sweetness of honey that had been added to the Earl Grey tea. “This is absolutely perfect, you make an excellent cup of tea.” 

“Yes, well, you must make sure you take care of yourself. If you run yourself ragged, Stark might have to do everything for himself and who knows what kind of disaster that would cause?” Loki was enormously pleased at the hearty laugh that escaped you following his comment.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Glancing at the clock on your office wall, you realised it was nearly 5 o’clock. “It’s almost time for me to finish up here, anyway.”

Scott popped his head through the doorway. “You still coming tonight, Y/N?”

“Yep, I just have a couple of things to finish here, but everything else can wait until tomorrow. Do you mind if I head back to my room to change, though?”

“No problem! The others aren’t quite ready yet either, so by the time you’re done we should all be good to go.” Scott headed off to the common room to wait for you.

Loki frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Oh! A few of us are heading out for a few hours. Should be a fun night,” you replied, without elaborating. “OK, I am done for the day. I guess I’d better go and get ready. Thanks again for the tea, Loki.” Shutting down your computer, you left your office and headed back to your room to freshen up.

Loki’s frown deepened. What on earth would you be doing that required you to spend time alone with the thief? He couldn’t fathom a common connection between the two of you.

He was only more confused upon entering the common room. Scott, Clint, Thor, Peter and Wanda were all seated on the lounge, each wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Team Disney”. They looked up and grinned as you entered. You were also decked out in a Disney shirt, and a pair of Mickey Mouse ears on your head. “Ready, everyone?” They all nodded excitedly.

“Y/N, what is going on?” asked Loki.

“Scott, the wonderful human that he is, has discovered a place that hosts Disney karaoke nights on a regular basis. I have a very specific skill set that hasn’t had a chance to be demonstrated in public until tonight.” You loved Disney movies, and knew every word to every song of every movie that had ever been made. Any time there was a Disney movie played on movie night, you always sang along, much to Tony’s annoyance and everybody else’s amusement.

“Yeah, and seeing as we’re almost as big Disney fans as Y/N, we’re joining her,” Clint added. He enjoyed Disney because of his children; Scott had loved Disney from when he was a small boy, and had never grown out of it; Thor had discovered many parallels between the Disney movies and the fairytales he grew up listening to on Asgard; and both Peter and Wanda were still young enough not to be embarrassed to admit that they also adored Disney.

“It’s going to be our monthly bonding exercise,” Wanda continued. “It’s much better than basketball or some other team sport. Team Disney is the best Avengers team.” The six of you fist-bumped each other. 

Scott ushered you towards the garage. “We’d better get going, otherwise they’ll start without us.”

“Later, Loki. Tell everyone not to wait up!” you called out as you headed out the door, arms linked with Wanda and Peter.

Loki decided that he was going to make an effort to watch every Disney movie in order to share your love of all things Disney, and join you on the next Disney karaoke night. There was absolutely no way that he was going to allow you to spend more time with those troublemakers unsupervised from now on. Especially his oaf of a brother. Who knew what sort of trouble that could lead to?

 

******

 

Tony was hosting a black-tie event at the Avengers Facility for New Years’ Eve, and the ballroom was decorated with a plethora of fairy lights, as well as black and white balloons. You had spent the day supervising the placement of the name tags on each table, advising where to put the table decorations, and making sure that everything looked absolutely perfect. The food had been personally chosen by yourself, and you had tasted every dish that the hired chefs were making to ensure that everything would be suitable for tonight. You had run around confirming that there were enough bottles of wine, champagne and beer, as well as a fully stocked bar, and that the bar staff knew better than to accept any of Thor’s Asgardian liquor or to serve Peter, who was still underage. Once you were satisfied that everything was in order, you headed back to your room to change into your gown.

Every Avenger was dressed in their finest, looking as superb as you would expect of Earth’s mightiest heroes in this situation. Tony and the other gentlemen were in tuxedoes, looking very dapper. Loki and Thor were wearing their formal Asgardian court garb, as neither of them felt particularly comfortable in tuxedoes. 

Natasha looked absolutely stunning, as usual, in a white satin gown with spaghetti straps and a thigh-high split. She had simple silver hoops in her ears, and a pair of towering silver stilettos. Bruce nearly fainted at the sight of her. He didn’t leave her side all night, and you thought the two of them looked wonderful together.

Wanda also looked beautiful. She had opted for an off the shoulder gown of deep red, with a mermaid tail skirt which flared out from her knees. She wore a pair of low-heeled black shoes. As expected, she attended with Vision, who had transformed his appearance so that he looked like a handsome, slightly older blonde gentleman. His current look would cause much less excitement than his usual red-skinned android body.

When you entered the ballroom, jaws dropped. You rarely got dressed up, preferring to wear casual clothes when you weren’t at work. As such, seeing you dressed formally was an event in itself. Tonight, you had chosen a simple black gown, pleated at the front to form a v-neckline. It was held up with spaghetti straps and had a fairly low back. The skirt had a split just past your knee, allowing you to show a bit of leg whilst not being too revealing. On your feet were silver stilettos with an ankle strap. Your hair was down and softly curled, and diamond studs glittered in your ears.

Tony swooped on you the moment you walked in. “Y/N, I must say, you scrub up extremely well. You actually look like a girl tonight.”

Rolling your eyes, you grinned at your boss. “Thanks, Tony. I thought I should probably make an effort, given how important tonight is for you.”

“Well, as your boss, I demand the first dance of the evening. Pepper won’t be here for another half an hour so you need to entertain me until she arrives.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled you onto the dance floor and commenced leading you through a waltz. Tony was an excellent dancer, having attended these sorts of functions since he was a young boy. He kept up a colourful commentary the entire time, making fun of most of his guests and the other Avengers.

As soon as Pepper arrived, Tony grabbed her, leaving you to the mercy of the others. Pietro immediately pounced on you and dragged you around the floor. He wasn’t a great lead, but he was very funny and kept you laughing the whole time with his antics. After a couple of dances, he led you back to your table so you could rest your feet for a few minutes.

Thor was the next to claim your hand, and the huge Asgardian led you through a couple of waltzes and even a foxtrot. You were not at all surprised that he danced so elegantly, given his royal upbringing. For such a large man, he was extremely light on his feet. It was almost like you were dancing on a cloud, or perhaps he was just holding you a few inches from the floor.

Loki tapped his brother on the shoulder. “Please allow someone else to dance with Y/N, brother. You are monopolising her.”

Thor chortled. “My apologies, Lady Y/N. Please, enjoy my brother’s company.” Thor knew of Loki’s feelings towards you, although he had been unable to determine how you felt about his brother in return.

“You look ravishing, my dear,” the trickster purred.

“Thank you, Loki. I like this look on you. It’s very regal.” He preened under your praise, which made you giggle. The tall god could be utterly loveable when he wanted to be, but usually he was sullen and standoffish. You decided you liked him much better when he was in a jovial mood.

Loki was an even better dancer than Thor. His steps flowed effortlessly, and you found that there was no difficulty with following his leads. He had a firm grip on your hand, and his other hand rested almost possessively on your back. After several dances, you begged to sit down so that you could rest for a little while. Grudgingly, Loki led you back to your seat. He seemed decidedly unimpressed when Steve joined you.

Steve gave you an approving glance. “You look great, Y/N. Very elegant.”

“Thanks, Captain. I must say, you look gorgeous as well. But that’s no great surprise.” You grinned as he blushed. Steve was still not used to women finding him attractive. At heart, he was still skinny, pre-serum Steve Rogers, not the Adonis currently seated next to you.

“May I ask you for the pleasure of the next dance? I’ve finally learned how.” He held his hand out expectantly, ignoring both the death glare from Loki and the scowl that his best friend was sending his way from the opposite side of the room. 

“I would be delighted, Steve.” You allowed him to lead you onto the floor. He was more confident than you expected him to be, and extremely graceful for a man his size. The two of you made small talk the entire time, laughing and chatting about nothing in particular.

Finally he led you over to where Bucky was standing. “I have a feeling this jerk would like to take over for a bit,” he grinned at you. You tried your best to suppress your own grin, but failed miserably.

Bucky glared at Steve even as he grabbed your hand. “Shut up, punk. Come on, doll.” The band started playing a faster number, and Bucky swung you through a jive. He was energetic and lively, and it was easy to see the man that he used to be in the 1940s. You had no doubt that Bucky in his prime was a force to be reckoned with. His smile was dazzling, and made you feel a little bit faint. If you’d met him in his army uniform, you were pretty sure you would have fallen under his spell just as many other women had.

“How are you enjoying the evening, doll?”

“It’s great fun. Tony really knows how to throw a function,” you answered.

“You look terrific, doll. You’re the prettiest dame here tonight,” Bucky said. You laughed, not taking him seriously. Bucky Barnes was a charmer, so you had absolutely no doubt that he’d said the exact same line to every other woman he’d danced with tonight. It had escaped your attention that he hadn’t taken to the floor with anyone other than yourself.

“Thank you, Bucky. You look fantastic as well. I can see why all the ladies drooled over you back in the day.” He smirked at your comment. You enjoyed another dance with him, before pleading exhaustion. You really needed to catch your breath for a few minutes, and so Bucky led you back to your table, and left for the bar to fetch a drink.

While you were enjoying the respite, Peter came and sat next to you. His bow tie was slightly crooked, and his brown curls were unruly. “Are you having a good time, Peter?”

He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, it’s great! Mr Stark throws great parties, doesn’t he?” His enthusiasm was infectious.

“That he does. He’s had a bit of experience with them.” Suddenly, you couldn’t stand it anymore. You leaned a bit closer to Peter. “May I?”

He stared at you quizzically, eyes widening comically and his cheeks turning pink as your hands reached up to his collar. You straightened his bow tie, and then smoothed the lapels of his tuxedo. “There, that’s much better. Your tie was crooked and it was making my eye twitch,” you grinned at him.

His blush grew even more furious when you ran your fingers through his hair to tame his curls. “OK, _now_ you’re presentable. You look every inch the gentleman tonight, Peter. You’re very handsome.” You thought he might spontaneously combust from your compliment. 

“Thank you, Miss…….. I mean, Y/N.” He glanced at you shyly, checking to see that you were happy with him finally calling you by your name. He relaxed when you nodded reassuringly at him. “I think you look really pretty tonight, too. I mean, you’re always pretty, but especially so tonight.”

You were flattered that this adorable teenager thought you looked nice. You were used to receiving compliments from the older guys, but somehow it felt more genuine coming from Peter. For one thing, he was completely incapable of saying something just to try to flatter somebody. If he told you that you looked lovely, it was because he genuinely believed you did. “Thanks, Peter.”

“Do you think maybe I could dance with you? I mean, you don’t have to! I’m sure you’d much rather dance with one of the others. They know what they’re doing. I don’t really have any idea how to dance. Just forget I said anything.” He rambled nervously, talking even faster than he usually did. This may have had something to do with the fact that he noticed Bucky within earshot, looking at Peter like he wanted to strangle him with his vibranium hand. 

“Peter, I would be honoured to dance with you.” You grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. You showed him where to place his hands, and the two of you swayed together slowly, with him following your lead. It was obvious that Peter was nervous, but he started to relax as you kept joking with him. He seemed to feel more confident after a couple of dances, and eventually he started to lead you around the floor. He finally seemed to be getting the hang of things just as the Macarena was starting.

“See, you don’t have to worry about stepping on my feet now,” you teased. Peter grinned at you, and the two of you started jumping around like crazy things, laughing loudly and exaggerating the dance moves. Soon Clint, Sam, Scott and Pietro had joined you, and the dancefloor descended into a contest to determine who could pull the most ridiculous moves. Sam did an excellent running man, Pietro was great at the robot, and Clint was the best at the chicken dance. You and Wanda, however, were the queens of the Nutbush. Tony led everyone in the conga, and soon the dancefloor was full of loud cheers and shouts of “Conga! Conga! Conga!” as everybody snaked their way around the ballroom.

Eventually, the band started playing a slower tune as the end of the year approached. Loki and Bucky were both determined to grab you for the final dance before midnight, but were chagrined to discover that you were already in Scott’s arms. They watched with dismay as he twirled you around the floor, making you giggle when he dipped you.

“This has been a wonderful evening, Y/N. You did a fantastic job of putting this all together. Tony must be really proud of you,” Scott complimented you.

For some reason, you felt your cheeks grow warm, and you ducked your head in embarrassment. You’d been praised by the others all evening about how lovely you looked, and yet hearing your efforts to make the evening a success receive such approval warmed your heart more than anything else. You peeked up at Scott through your lashes. His green eyes crinkled with laughter, and you felt your heart skip a beat when you noticed the dimple when he smiled. How come you had never really noticed before just how gorgeous he was?

Scott had always been one of your closest friends amongst the Avengers. The two of you had hit it off straight away, sharing a love of terrible ‘dad’ jokes, cheesy 80s music and trashy reality TV. He’d always treated you with respect, knowing exactly when to tease you and when it was time to take you seriously. He often brought your favourite muffin and a cup of coffee to your office when you didn’t have time for a break, and loved to surprise you with little treats that he picked up when he went to the city. He would bring you a bar of chocolate, or a single flower, or tell you about a song or movie that he thought you’d like, just because he thought you’d appreciate them. You’d never really given much thought to these acts, as the rest of the team often did similar things, but you suddenly realised that Scott seemed to do them more regularly than the others, and without expecting anything from you other than a smile.

The countdown to the new year began, and you continued to gaze at the man in front of you, suddenly oblivious to everything else around you. “10… 9… 8… 7…”

Just before it ended, you whispered, “Happy new year, Scott." 

“Happy new year, Y/N.”

“…1! Happy new year!”

As the balloons and streamers descended from the ceiling and the party poppers went off, Scott dipped his head, capturing your lips with his own. He kissed you softly at first, but after a few seconds became more persistent. You returned his kiss eagerly, twining your fingers in his hair. You felt lightheaded, and it was lucky that his arms were around your waist to keep you upright. As the kiss ended, Scott pressed his forehead to yours and stared into your eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for months,” he admitted softly.

You smiled at him, nuzzling your nose against his. “Well, better late than never.” You kissed him again. 

The two of you were so caught up in each other that neither of you noticed the horrified expressions on the faces of Loki and Bucky. The rest of the team did, though, and were in hysterics. Nat and Steve, in particular, were having great difficulty keeping a straight face while listening to the howls of outrage from the two. Tony grudgingly handed Bruce $50. He’d been convinced you would end up with Steve, but Bruce had suspected your fondness for Scott long before even you seemed to be aware of it. Peter was just glad you hadn’t chosen Loki.

“Are you serious? Y/N prefers the company of the thief to me?” Loki spluttered with indignation.

“The guy stole her out from under us,” Bucky whined, making an unintentional pun about Scott’s background.

Natasha snorted. “Maybe she prefers him because he didn’t try so hard to impress her. Scott is genuine. You two idiots clearly are not. You’ve just been trying to outdo each other, rather than trying to get to know her better.”

“Yes,” agreed Wanda. “He’s been a great friend to her, and it’s grown from there. Did either of you even bother trying to find out what she likes?”

The two men hung their heads in shame. It was true; they’d been so caught up in their efforts to win your affections that they’d never made any attempt to actually learn anything about you. All they knew was that they didn’t want the other one to have you. And now neither of them had won. They had lost you to a man who’d actually showed you in a million tiny ways that he cared about you, without anyone else realising that he’d been doing so.

Looking at Loki, Bucky gestured towards the bar. “I don’t know about you, but I think I need a drink.”

“Agreed. I know where Thor keeps the Asgardian mead. I feel that is the only thing that will work right now.” The god led the assassin to the bar and proceeded to pour both of them a large glass of the fiery golden liquid. The two of them spent the rest of the night drinking away their sorrows.

 

******

 

You never did manage to find out why Bucky and Loki suddenly seemed to have become the best of friends, but seeing them finally getting along made you almost as happy as Scott did.

**Author's Note:**

> Well that didn’t turn out quite as I’d originally planned it! When I started this, I always imagined the reader would end up with Peter, but for some reason Scott decided to take over at the last minute. But I think it works better that way. I hope you enjoyed it!


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